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Shambuka (IAST: śambūka) is a character in the original Valmiki Ramayana. According to Valmiki Ramayana, Shambuka, a Shudra ascetic, was slain by Rama for attempting to perform penance. This act of Shambuka was seen by Rama as violation of Dharma as he believed that the bad karma, resulting from this act, caused the death of a Brahmin's son in his kingdom.
The killing of Shambuka appears in the 'Uttarakanda' , sargas 73-76, in the Valmiki Ramayana. This episode also appears in Raghuvaṃśa, an epic poem composed by celebrated Sanskrit poet Kālidāsa in 5th century CE, and in Uttararamacarita, a Sanskrit play composed by Bhavabhuti in 7th century AD. This story is missing in later renditions of the Ramayana such as Kamba Ramayanam—which ends with coronation of Rama— written by Tamil poet Kambar in 12th century AD, and the Ramcharitrmanas written by Tulsidas in 16th century AD.. Rama's killing of Shambuka is also mentioned in verse 749 in prabandham 'Perumal Thirumozhi' (sung by Kulasekara Alvar) of Naalayira Divya Prabandham, a collection of 4,000 verses composed by the 12 Alvars.
Criticism and apologetics
Hindu authors adopt other means to explain the reason behind Rama's killing of Shambuka. The celebrated Kannada poet Kuvempu, in his play Shudra Tapasvi shows Rama as having to both carry out his duty by punishing Shambuka, and simultaneously protect Shambuka, as a pious and devout sage, from persecution, and thereby turns the story into a critique of Brahminical attitudes and a defense of Rama.
Notes
- Government of Maharashtra, Nasik District Gazeteer: History - Ancient Period "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 7 November 2006. Retrieved 1 October 2006.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) (text credited to Mahamahopadhyaya Dr. V. V. Mirashi) - ^ Hari Prasad Shastri (1957). The Ramayana of Valmiki. Shanti Sadan. p. 583. ISBN 978-0-8542-4048-7.
- Shastri, Hari Prasad (1952). The Ramayana of Valmiki. Shanti Sadan, London. ISBN 9780854240487.
- Paula Richman (2008). Ramayana Stories in Modern South India: An Anthology. Indiana University Press. p. 111. ISBN 978-0-253-21953-4.
- Richman, Paula (2001). Questioning Ramayanas: A South Asian Tradition. University of California Press. p. 95. ISBN 9780520220744.
- Kalidasa, Mallinatha, M R Kaale (1922). The Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa : with the commentary (the Samjivani) of Mallinatha. Bombay : P.S. Rege. p. 22. OCLC 1051754532.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Kalidasa, Mallinatha, M R Kaale (1922). The Raghuvamsa of Kalidasa : with the commentary (the Samjivani) of Mallinatha. Bombay : P.S. Rege. OCLC 223345573.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - Nunan, Thomas Ahlers (2013). "Renogitating A Beheading: Literary Opposition To Varna Hierarchy In Shambuka's Story".
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - Sinha, Ramesh Chandra (21 March 2017). Subaltern Morality: a Postmodern Vision. Partridge Publishing. p. 68. ISBN 978-1-4828-8829-4.
- Rinehart, Robin (2004). Contemporary Hinduism: Ritual, Culture, and Practice. ABC-CLIO. p. 246. ISBN 978-1-57607-905-8.
- Kulasekara Alvar. Perumal Thirumozhi, Naalayira Divya Prabandham (PDF). Project Madurai. p. 131.
- 'M. Raghava, "The king and the protector of the devout" The Hindu (26 October 2004).
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